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breathe. The world seemed to speed up around her, cars streaking along the highway, the wind tossing wet leaves across the lot.
    She thought about the raven tattoo on Trevor's back and wished someone would rip it off along with his skin. She wanted to tear him into a thousand pieces.
    She thought about the old pervert on the bus.
    I'll give you the next thing you want, too.
    You know where to find me.
    "Where's Boo now?” Nikki asked.
    "At the vet. Mom wanted me to drive you over as soon as you got home."
    "Why was he outside? Who let him out?"
    "Mom came home with groceries. He slipped past her."
    "Is he oka—?"
    Doug shook his head. “They're waiting for you before they put him down. They wanted to give ?you a chance to say goodbye."
    She wanted to throw up or scream or ?cry, but when she spoke, her voice sounded ?so calm that it unnerved her. “Why? Isn't there ?anything they can do?"
    "Listen, the doctor said they could operate, but ?it's a couple thousand dollars and you know we can't ? afford it.” Doug's voice was soft, like he was sorry, ?but she wanted to hit him anyway.
    Nikki looked across the lot, but the truck wasn't ?in front of Trevor's trailer and his windows were dark. ?"We could make Trevor pay."
    Doug sighed. “Not going to happen."
    Now she felt tears well in her eyes, but she ?blinked them back. She wouldn't grieve over Boo. ?She'd save him. “I'm not going anywhere with you."
    "You have to, Nikki. Mom's waiting for you."
    "Call her. Tell her I'll be there in an hour. I'm ?taking the bus.” Nikki grabbed the sleeve of ?Doug's jacket, gripping it as hard as she could. ?"She better not do anything to Boo until I get ?there.” Tears slid down her cheek. She ignored ?them, concentrating on looking as fierce as ?possible. “You better not, either."
    "Calm down. I'm not going to—” Doug said, but she was already walking away.
    Nikki got on the next bus that stopped and scanned the aisles for the old pervert. A woman with two bags of groceries cradled on her lap looked up at Nikki, then abruptly turned away. A man stretched out on the long back seat shifted in his sleep, his fingers curled tightly around a bottle of beer. Three men in green coveralls conversed softly. There was no one else.
    Nikki slid into her seat, wrapping her arms around her body as though she could hold in her sobs with sheer pressure. She had no idea what to do. Looking for a weird old guy who could grant wishes was pathetic. It was sad and stupid.
    If there was some way to get the money, things might be different. She thought of all the stuff in the trailer that could be sold, but it didn't add up to a thousand dollars. Even sticking her hand into the till at The Sweet Tooth was unlikely to net more than a few hundred.
    Outside the window, the strip malls and motels slid together in her tear-blurred vision. Nikki thought of the day she'd found Boo by the side of the road, dehydrated and bloody. With all those bite marks, she figured his owners had been fighting him against other dogs, but when he saw her he bounded up as dumb and sweet and trusting as if he'd been pampered since he was a puppy. If he died, nothing would ever be fair again.
    The bus stopped in front of a churchyard, the doors opened, and the old guy got on. He wore a suit of shiny sharkskin and carried a cane with a silver greyhound instead of a knob. He still stank of rotten eggs, though. Worse than ever.
    Nikki sat up straight, wiping her face with her sleeve. “Hey."
    He looked over at her as though he didn't know her. “Excuse me?"
    "I've been looking for you. I need your help."
    Sitting down in the seat across the aisle, he unbuttoned the bottom button on his jacket. “That's magic to my ears."
    "My dog.” Nikki sank her fingernails into the flesh of her palm to keep herself calm. “Someone hit my dog and he's going to die?.?.?."
    His face broke into a wrinkled grin. “And you want him to live. Like I've never heard that one before."
    He was making